INFORMATIONAL

Enclosed are the Spring 1997 state reports from the Virginia
Literacy Testing Program and the Virginia State Assessment
Program (VSAP).  Both reports are being sent to you ahead of
their dissemination to the State Board of Education on July 24,
1997 but are under embargo until 3:00 p.m. on that day.  The
embargo will allow you and your staff to review the information
prior to public release.  We ask your cooperation in honoring
the embargo and not releasing state or division information
other than your own until 3:00 p.m. July 24, 1997.

The VSAP report for 1997 contains the first statewide
information related to the administration of the Stanford 9
Achievement Test of grades 3, 5, 8, and 11.  The report of the
linking study (The Virginia State Assessment Program:
Transition From the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and the Tests of
Academic Proficiency to the Stanford 9, July 1997) conducted as
part of this first year implementation is also included in this
dissemination.

Questions regarding the Report of the Virginia Literacy Testing
Program and the VSAP Report should be directed to the staff of
the Division of Assessment and Reporting at (804) 225-2102.
Both reports may be found on VA.PEN after July 31, 1997.

jc

Enclosures:     A hard copy of this memo and its enclosures will be sent
                to the superintendent's office.